TODAY:

Fed Cup Factoids

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis and the largest annual international team competition in women’s sport. A total of 102 nations have entered the competition in 2016, with over 300 players set to take part.

FED CUP IS OVER 50 YEARS OLD

Fed Cup celebrated its 50th birthday in the ITF’s centenary year in 2013, having been launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ITF.

TIES

This weekend sees the four first round ties in both the World Group and World Group II. The three regional Zone Group I events are also taking place this week on 3-6 February: Europe/Africa Zone Group I (Eilat, Israel); Americas Zone Group I (Santa Cruz, Bolivia); and Asia/Oceania Zone Group I (Hua Hin, Thailand). The Americas Zone Group II event is also taking place on 1-6 February in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Details of the World Group first round ties are as follows:

Romania v Czech Republic, Cluj-Napoca (hard – indoors)

Germany v Switzerland, Leipzig (hard – indoors) *on TC PLUS

France v Italy, Marseille (hard – indoors)

Russia v Netherlands, Moscow (hard – indoors)

Details of the World Group II first round ties are as follows:

Slovakia v Australia, Bratislava (hard – indoors)

Canada v Belarus, Quebec City (hard – indoors)

USA v Poland, Kailua Kona, Hawaii (hard – outdoors) * on TC PLUS

Serbia v Spain, Kraljevo (hard – indoors)

The four World Group first round winners will contest the semifinals on 16-17 April.

Also on 16-17 April, the four World Group first round losers will contest the World Group play-offs alongside the four World Group II first round winners. On the same weekend, the four World Group II first round losers will contest the World Group II play-offs alongside the four qualifiers from the Zone Group I events (two from Europe/Africa, one from Asia/Oceania and one from Americas).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The draw for the World Group play-offs and World Group II play-offs will be held at the ITF offices in London on Tuesday 9 February at 12:00 GMT. The seeds will be based on the new Fed Cup Nations Ranking of 8 February.

The deadline for confirmation of future venues is 22 February for the World Group semifinals, and 1 March for the World Group play-offs and World Group II play-offs.

SPONSORS

The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup, now entering its 12th year of title sponsorship. International sponsors are Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Betway (Official Betting Sponsor). beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner.

CALENDAR DATES

Fed Cup has fixed dates in the women’s tennis calendar through 2016, thanks to an understanding between the ITF and WTA. The ITF is currently discussing future calendar dates with the WTA.

DEAD RUBBER POLICY

A dead rubber policy has been in place at all Fed Cup ties since 2013. If a tie is decided after the third singles rubber, the fourth singles willnot be played (unless both nations want to), and the dead doubles rubber will be played instead. If the fourth singles decides the tie, the dead doubles rubber will still be played.All dead doubles rubbers will be two regular sets plus a match tiebreak. This was in response to requests from players, captains and National Associations, while maintaining the spectator experience on the Sunday.

HAWK-EYE OFFICIATING SYSTEM

Electronic line-calling review is currently used in all rounds of the World Group, plus World Group II and the World Group Play-offs.

FED CUP HEART AWARD

The Fed Cup Heart Award, launched in 2009, is an ITF initiative that honours the distinction, courage and commitment to the team that it takes to succeed in Fed Cup. The award is voted for by members of the public via the Fed Cup website.

In 2016, six Fed Cup Heart Awards will be presented after the following rounds: World Group and World Group II first round, World Group semifinals, World Group and World Group II play-offs and the three Zone Group I events. Each winner will receive a cheque to be donated to their chosen charity.

FED CUP WEBSITE

There are two versions of the official Fed Cup website, in English (www.fedcup.com) and Spanish (www.fedcup.com/es), plus the Fed Cup TV site www.fedcup.tv. The websites will feature live scoring, plus the Fed Cup Live Blog, photographs, audio interviews and live streaming. The websites recorded over 8.5 million page views in 2015. Fans are also able to keep up-to-date with all the latest Fed Cup news on Twitter and Facebook in both English and Spanish, and on Chinese social media, with over 180,000 followers to these accounts.

SHOW YOUR COLOURS

Show Your Colours, the ITF’s fan-focused campaign to promote Davis Cup and Fed Cup as the world cups of tennis, is already used by over 60 nations globally. Building on the unique team nature of both competitions, Show Your Colours uses branding elements for promotion, in-stadium activities and all of the ITF’s website and social media activity.

TELEVISION

Fed Cup will be broadcast on TV in all 16 nations contesting the World Group and World Group II first round ties. The feature tie is Germany versus Switzerland which is being covered by over 20 broadcasters. There is also coverage of the Zone Group I events in Israel and Bolivia.

In 2015, there were over 2500 hours of dedicated Fed Cup TV coverage by 41 broadcasters in 139 territories worldwide. It remains the priority of the ITF to secure coverage on free-to-air channels.

ATTENDANCE

Over 145,000 spectators attended Fed Cup ties in 2015. Recent years have seen larger stadiums and increased attendance.

ITF FED CUP NATIONS RANKING

The new ITF Fed Cup Nations Ranking will be published on Monday 8 February and will include results from the weekend’s ties. The Ranking is published on the Monday following every Fed Cup World Group round, and is based on a nation’s performances in the competition over a four-year period. All nations competing in Fed Cup from World Group through to Zone Group III are ranked. Czech Republic is the current No. 1 nation.